Cleats for concrete form moldboards



May 14, 1957 C. S. CARLSEN CLEATS FOR CONCRETE FORM MOLDBOARDS FiledDec. 22, 1955 INVENTOR. CHR\$T\AN s. CARL-SEN TTORNEYS CLEATS FORCONCRETE FORM MOLDBOARDS Christian S. Carlsen, Fox Island, Wash.

Application December 22, 1955, Serial No. 554,698

2 Claims. (Cl. 25-131) Summarized briefly, this invention is a cleat ofelongated, approximately right-triangular shape, attachable to avertical support together with like other cleats, in an arrangement suchthat moldboards secured to said support will be tilted. Due to thearrangement, a concrete slab formed in the mold or form will have onesurface thereof so molded as to simulate the exterior surface of aclapboard or shake-type wall.

it has been previously suggested to provide forms for pouring concrete,having one wall shaped to impart the above mentioned appearance to thecompleted concrete wall construction. The main object of the presentinvention is to improve upon this type of mold, by permitting the use ofconventional moldboards and conventional supports, the moldboards beingarranged to produce the desired surfacing on the completed concrete wallentirely by the provision of relatively small, light cleats interposedbetween the moldboards and their associated supports.

A more specific object is to permit the cleats to be secured directly tothe vertical supports, and to further permit the moldboards themselvesto be secured directly to said supports despite the fact that themoldboards are spaced over their entire areas outwardly from thevertical supports by the cleats.

A further specific object is to permit the moldboards to be readilydetached from their associated supports when the form is being knockeddown, with the cleats to be either left upon the supports awaiting theirnext use or alternatively, removed from said supports and stored in asmall area.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claimsappended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, andwherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of one wall of a concreteform erected with cleats made according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through a portion of the form withconcrete poured therein;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the form;

Figure 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section on line 44 ofFigure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the cleats per se;and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of cleat.

Designated at 10 are horizontally spaced, vertical supports which may beconventional 2 x 4 material. At 12 there have been designatedhorizontally extending, elongated moldboards of conventional Wood stock,such as ordinary lengths of sheathing.

The invention, comprising a cleat 14, is adapted to permit conventionalvertical supports 10 and conventional moldboards 12 to be used in themolding of a concrete wall one face of which will simulate a clapboardor shake construction.

The cleats are used in a vertical series, one series on ted StatesPatent 0 2 each support 10 as shown in Figure 1. In Figures l-5, thecleats are formed from wood material, and since all are identical, thedescription of one will suflice for all of them.

Each cleat (see Figure 5) comprises an elongated, relatively narrow bodywhich in side elevation has the outer configuration of a long, invertedright triangle (see Figures 2 and 4). Thus, each cleat included asupportboard-contacting face 16, extending at acute angles to amoldboard-contacting face 18. The first named face constitutes thehypotenuse leg of a right triangle, and at the upper end of the bodythere is provided a fiat top face 20 lying in a plane perpendicular tothe plane of face 18.

Medially between the opposite side surfaces of the cleat body, there isformed at the juncture of faces 16, 20 a shallow recess 22, the innerwall of which is sloped so as to lie in parallelism (see Figure 2) withface 18 of the cleat body. At the lower end of said body there is formedmedially between opposite sides thereof a short tongue 24, projectingbeyond the end of the body where the faces 16, 18 converge.

Due to this arrangement, when any cleat is attached in a verticalposition to a support 10, the depending tongue 24 of the cleat nextabove the same will fit into the recess .22 of the cleat alreadyattached. This facilitates the .below the same.

proper disposition of the cleats in vertical alignment, effects aninterlocking of the cleats of the vertical series, and insures spacingof each cleat at the lower ends of its faces 16, 18 from the top surface20 of the cleat next Most importantly, however, conventional boards suchas shown at 12 swell or shrink according to climatic changes, and thetongue and recess arrangement permits adjustments of the cleats to takecare of these variations in board sizes.

Medially between the ends of face 16, there is formed a transverse,rectangular recess 26, extending fully fromone to the other side of thecleat body, and fomned in communicates between the recess 26 and theface 18. The opening extends perpendicularly to face 18 as shown inFigure 4.

In attaching the cleats to the moldboard supports 10, one first securesto the lower end of the support a laterally projecting base block 29(see Figure 2), having a top surface inclined into a plane parallel tothe top surface Ztl of any cleat of the series. Then, the cleats areattached, starting at the lowerend of the support. Each cleat is securedto the support by a nail 28, the head of which is countersunk in theface 18. After each cleat is attached, the depending tongue 24 of thecleat next above the same is inserted in the recess 22 of the attachedcleat, the operation being continued through the desired part of thelength of the support lb.

Then, the moldboards 12 are attached to the supports, with the cleatsserving as spacers between the supports and moldboards.

It is important to note, in this regard, that the moldboards are notattached to the cleats. Rather, nails 30 driven through the moldboardsare extended directly into the supports 10 at opposite sides of eachcleat, in the manner shown in Figure 3. As will be observed, theabutting ends of adjacent moldboards can be disposed with their line ofcontact medially between the opposite side surfaces of an associatedcleat, with nails 30 then being driven through the moldboards adjacentsaid line of contact, in spaced relation to the respective, oppositesides of a cleat.

The other wall 32. of the form may be wholly conventional, since thiswill mold the inside surface of the concrete wall. Thus, wall 32 lieswholly in a vertical plane,

Patented May 14, 1957.

3 and is reinforced by and secured to conventional, vertical supports34.

When the mold has been erected concrete is poured thereinto to providethe desired concrete wall or slab 36. Following setting of the concrete,the mold is broken away therefrom, and the results will be a concretewall the outer surface of which simulates with considerable faithfulnessa wooden clapboard wall.

The concrete wall can of course be painted or for that matter theconcrete itself may be colored if desired, to further add to thecloseness of the resemblence between said wall and a clapboardconstruction.

When the concrete form is to be disassembled, the moldboards may bereadily detached from the supports by being pried ofi the supports, orbybeing struck hammer blows from the left in Figures 1 or 3'. This doesnot disturb the cleats, however, and they can be left attached to thesupports if desired, to facilitate the subsequent erection of asimilarly constituted form.

Of course, the cleats themselves can be readily removed from supports10, since the recesses 26 permit the insertion of any suitable tool,such as the claw of a hammer or the end of a crowbar, into the recess.When this is'done, the cleats can be easily pried oif the supports 10.

In Figure 6 there is shown a modification of the construction whereinthe cleat 10a is formed from a single length of strap metal, to providea body having angularly related faces 16a, 18a, and a top face 20a. Anopening formed in the body at the juncture of faces 16a, 20a forms therecess 22a, and an inwardly offset portion of face 16a, having a nailreceiving opening 27a, provides the recess 26a. A tongue 24a is providedby contacting extensions of the end portions of, the length of strapmetal at the convergent ends of surfaces or faces 16a, 18a respectively.

It will be seen that the modified construction has a shape andfunctional characteristics identical to the cleat shown in Figure 5.

An opening would of course be formed in the portion I of the cleatproviding face 181:, in back of the opening there has been a slightswelling of the boards 12. Then, D

should they be too high, a slight tap with a. hammer will drive themdownward into place.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confinedto the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may beutilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the inventionto be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated anddescribed, since such construction is only intended to be illustrativeof the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carryout said principles, it being con sidered that the invention comprehendsany minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed, is:

l. A concrete form wall construction comprising spaced, verticalsupports; a plurality of cleats secured to said supports and alignedlongitudinally of the supports, said cleats each having one faceabutting said supports; a plurality of horizontally extending moldboardssecured directly to said supports and spaced outwardly therefrom by thecleats, said cleats having also moldboard-contacting faces oblique tothe lengths of the supports for correspondingly disposing the severalmoldboards in planes oblique to the lengths of the supports, thus toarrange the moldboards in 'a manner designed to provide, on one face ofa concrete wall molded in the form, the simulation of a clapboard wall,and cooperating means on adjacent cleats for interlocking the cleats inlongitudinal alignment on said supports.

2. A concrete form Wall construction comprising spaced, verticalsupports; a plurality of cleats secured to said supports and alignedlongitudinally of the supports; and a plurality of horizontallyextending moldboards secured directly to said supports and spacedoutwardly therefrom by the cleats, said cleats havingmoldboardcontacting faces oblique to the lengths of the supports forcorrespondingly disposing the several moldboards in planes oblique tothe lengths of the supports, thus to arrange the moldboards in a mannerdesigned to provide, on one face of a concrete wall molded in the form,the simulation of a clapboard wall, each of said cleats having theconfiguration of an elongated, inverted right triangle, and having atits apex end a tongue projecting beyond said apex end, each cleat havingat its opposite end a recess proportioned to receive the tongue of acleat next above the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS929,938 Haldeman Aug. 3, 1909 966,802 Daisley Aug. 9, 1910 1,164,352Jackson Dec. 14, 1915 2,168,991 Hungerford Aug. 8, 1939

